A RESOURCEFUL Kidder-minster shopkeeper has closed the doors to her "Aladdin's cave" store after 28 years and has turned to selling on the internet.

Pat Johnson, who owned Books and Bargains in the Horsefair, said goodbye to her business last Friday and plans to continue trading on the worldwide web.

Despite never using a computer until three years ago she has already sold more than 2,000 items to shoppers on the auction website, eBay.

The 64-year-old blamed the regeneration of the town centre and an increase in shoplifting for the drop in business before locking up her Blackwell Street store for the final time.

She explained: "The main reason is simple. I just have not been getting the customers through the door.

"A few weeks ago I did not have one person come into the shop all day. All the improvements have been aimed at the town centre.

"Some of the traders here feel forgotten," she added.

The grandmother of six, who ran the business on her own, has taken night jobs in the past to help her finances, which meant working 90 hours a week.

Mrs Johnson, who began at premises in Mill Street in 1967, has travelled to auctions in all corners of the country in her quest to find stock.

Her hunting has meant customers at the Blackwell Street treasure trove have been able to look for almost anything from clothes and beds to playing cards.

She said: "We have sold everything and it has been a bit like Aladdin's Cave.

"I am very proud of my little shop and it is sad that it will be no more but it is a fact of life and you just move on with things.

"I got my first computer three years ago and did an evening course at Kidderminster College. It really shocked me how easy it was to sell on the internet.

"I have had a few bad experiences with people not paying but you learn from them and get to know how to avoid it happening."